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The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
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It's amazing how much one person can suffer so much in just 21 pages. His mom dies, his grandmother dies, he gets severely burned in a car accident, and his aunt and uncle die. OK, I get that life dealt him a bad hand, but can we get on with the story? Then Marianne shows up at the hospital and the story hooked me in.
I ended up enjoying The Gargoyle in spite of its many flaws.
I think the depressing chapter should have been second...or wrapped up in three pages...
This section of the book didn't depress me at all. The author's heavy-handed and overly dramatic approach made me roll my eyes instead.
I read this book not too long ago. The first chapter and part of the second are dramatic and overdone. But in the second chapter Marianne is introduced and the story changes. It becomes lighter and more entertaining. Her stories are what kept me reading, because I never developed a interest in the narrator.
I found that I had to put the book down after I read these chapters....and when I finally got the nerve to pick it up I was at the part where Marianne enters the story. I really enjoyed the rest of the book, but the begining was a bit hard to get into.
I skimmed the burn treatment but really, really enjoyed the book.
DevonAlyse wrote: "So, I'm on page 21 of this book, and so far I am so not into it. Has anyone here read this book already?? "
This book was nailed by my 100 page rule - after 100 pages I was NOT into it and it was dropped. I still went to the book club meeting where it was discussed though. The reaction of most in there was .... Not very good but glad they read it.
-- Wife of GR author Michael J. Sullivan: The Crown Conspiracy (10/08) | Avempartha (04/09)
Nancy wrote: "It's amazing how much one person can suffer so much in just 21 pages. His mom dies, his grandmother dies, he gets severely burned in a car accident, and his aunt and uncle die. OK, I get that lif..."LOL -that was EXACTLY my reaction!! Was there no editor for this book. Did no one say - Hey Andrew you are laying it on a bit thick ;-)
I took it back to the library this morning. I tried reading some more last night, I only made it to chapter 4.
Good for you - move on to something you enjoy - life is too short to read books you don't enjoy.
I just read the gargoyle last week, contrary to everyone else i didn't mind it, i guess i must have been in the right mood for a depressive book! I feel it did drag on in parts though, but i think the parts that kept me interested mostly were marianne's stories, without them the book would have been way to depressing. I thought it was quite well done for his first book though!
Fallon,Did you feel that the book should have had "better" editing? I just ask because the people in my face-to-face group that liked it seemed to come to that conclusion - and I don't mean grammar - but more someone "controlling" him a bit.
It probably could have been toned down. Whatever could have went wrong, definetly seemed to have gone wrong! What a life history just in the first chapter! It's certainly an interesting concept that somebody could know all their past lives if you believe in that, but to such finite detail?
I think it would have helped if someone would have controlled him a bit. For some of the more squimish readers I'm sure it was a huge turnoff. I'm not squimish, but I felt like it was too over the top. Not only that, but it didn't make me sympathize with the narrator more even knowing about his horrible childhood and severe burns. I never grew to like him because I felt like he gave me too much detail in the beginning.
Actually I found the concept of this book very interesting - even though burn victims, gargoyles, and body mutilation are not my thing. I stuck it out til the very end ...
Jackie wrote: "Not only that, but it didn't make me sympathize with the narrator more even knowing about his horrible childhood and severe burns. I never grew to like him because I felt like he gave me too much detail in the beginning. ..."I think that was the biggest problem for me - I didn't like this guy and didn't care what happened to him.
Robin wrote: "Jackie wrote: "Not only that, but it didn't make me sympathize with the narrator more even knowing about his horrible childhood and severe burns. I never grew to like him because I felt like he gav..."I'll agree with that - he wasn't a likeable character, but I did like the gargoyle carver!
Overall, I did like the book. I have to admit, the beginning was a bit over-the-top, in a few accounts, and despite the plea to feel bad for the narrator, I didn't at all, but I was drawn into Marianne's stories and her role in his life and ultimately his role in hers. I really never felt for the narrator, but it was the other threads of the story that drew me in.
Well I certainly "gave up" before getting to where it was "picking up" for most. I might go back to this at some time but for now I've got other things burning up my TBR.
I found this book to be just ok, not anything that I was excited to get back to after putting it down. I did find the burn parts sort of interesting from a medical viewpoint - just to see what happens to a body after being burned (I hope that doesn't sound wierd or morbid-----lol). However, I just thought it dragged and kept waiting for something to happen.
I also have read Gargoyle not that long ago and I actually liked the book. I agree that the first part was a bit too descriptive and depressing, but once you get past that part, the book is actually quite interesting. I also like the story within the story that was told in the book. One of my friend lent me this book. If it weren't for her, this would not be something that I would pick up and read. But I ended up liking this book :)
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The Gargoyle (other topics)
Has anyone here read this book already??